Need some help quickly, so fish have been lost.

CathyJ

The tank did have an 18W UV on it, but I supect the bulb is probably beyond needing replaced. I guess I can try the black out again, and wrap it in black this time, before it gets so green you can't see the fish again.

Do any of the chemicals like allgone or algaefix work?

1077

You may wish to replace the bulb on the uv unit or you might test your tapwater for phosphates, I believe API offers a test for this. I am unsure if 18 watt bulb on uv would be sufficent for the tank. Was it on this tank? I would resist the urge to add chemicals to the water were it me.

CathyJ

Yes, the 18W UV was on the 135. I will just try the black out for now.

iamntbatman

Total blackouts are proven successful for treating green water so it would be a good option.

CathyJ

I tried the black out before for 5 days, and it didn't make a dent in the green water. But I didn't cover the tank, I just turned out the lights. This time, all sides and the top are covered in black plastic. I am hopeful that this will finally put an end to the green water!

WisFish

How many watts of light do you use? Are you using city water or well water? It could be high amounts of something like phosphates or nitrogen. Live plants? Water temp? When you started the tank over, what maintenance did you do with the filters?

CathyJ

I will have to check the watts on the bulbs. There are two single bulbs about 30" long each. I didn't see a wattage on them, they just said aquarium on them. I will check further. The lights are on less than 8 hrs. a day.

The water tested at nearly 0 on phosphates. There was only a very slight color change from the lowest level color on the Red Sea test kit. I don't know about a nitrogen test kit? There are no live plants. When we got the tank, it had no thermometer and the temperature was between 72 and 75. We have since added a heater and are now running around 78.

When we started the tank over, we washed every thing including the filters with pretty stiff clorox water. We let the tank run 50% full for a couple weeks. Over the next week or two, we finished filling the tank with water change water form a friends clean fresh water tank. We also put filter pads from that tank into this one .

After the tank was clear filled up, we started taking fish out of the holding tank we had set up. We added 3 fish every two to three days. We rinsed them with the new tank water and then added the fish to the tank, but not the rinse water. I think we should have put the fish in clean water for two or three days before we put them back in the tank. I think may be when they went to the bathroom they put the green algae spores back into the tank? We have also added a large air pump and more filteration and a couple power heads to the tank.

I have never seen such a mess with green water before. And if we ever get it clear gone, I hope to heck we never see it again!!!

Saltwater has been much easier than this!

Thank you for your help and input!

Oldman47

My best guess is that you have never lost any fish in the nasty 75 gallon green water tank. Green water itself is not a problem for the fish, it is a problem for us trying to see the fish. I already gave a post in your other green water thread to talk about it.

CathyJ

Nope, we never lost a fish in the nasty green water.

CathyJ

Well, two 3 and 5 day black outs, massive multiple water changes and etc. for over 2 months, and the water is still green.

I took the fish out and dumped 1 gallon of clorox into the full tank. I left all the filters and etc running. Every surface that may have had green water touching it should have been covered. The green is finally gone.

I left the clorox in there for 4 days, drained it, filled it and rinsed it good. Drained it again, filled it with tap water and let it set for a day. Added Prim the second day. The 3rd day I added some water and filters from an established tank. I have been putting the fish in clean tank water from established non-green tanks daily to be sure they don't pass any single cell green algae spores back into the tank when they are re-entered.

If this doesn't get it once and for all, I quit!